.rainy afternoon.

i love rain.

i love it.

i do.


it's raining here today. pouring really. i've got ani difranco on the ipod, soup in the crock pot, my xtratufs drying by the door and rain pounding on the windows. le sigh.

gonna run across the street for some beeeerrrrr later. and make some of trader joe's AMAZING corn bread from a box to go with my soup (yes, corn bread from a box. i am on my way to being a radical homemaker and i make corn bread from a box. i understand the irony). perfect.

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.THE SOUP.

i'm a vegetarian for many reasons and super in to nutrition and health and the environment and loving people. there. i said it.

i'm sure you guessed that by now anyway. so, if you are interested, here's what i put in my soup:

vegan bouillon cube (WITH SALT)
earth balance "butter" (the soy-free kind since i have a soy allergy. i get this instead of butter for now until i can start getting good butter straight from a farm)
an ENTIRE huge onion
organic yellow potatoes
green and red lentils
organic red chard - chopped up real small
organic, full-fat coconut milk
organic, canned tomatoes with green chilies (canned tomatoes offer more cancer-fighting lycopene than raw. and they taste better and are more sustainable than raw tomatoes during the winter)
organic bulgar wheat
the few tablespoons that were left of my bulk chickpeas. i didn't soak them first, so it could have been a mistake. they may never get soft....
TONS of my favorite curry powder from limbo (in pdx)
chopped up fresh ginger root
minced garlic (like a whole head)
cumin, turmeric (SO GOOD FOR YOU!), fresh ground pepper corns and a good amount of sea salt (the best kind of salt there is. celtic sea salt. stay away from that silly, processed table salt).
water to cover to the top

it's all sitting happily in my crockpot now while i am about to clean my house . . . i might add some beer to the soup . . .

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in other news, the KILLAH BEES are getting ready for their first game of the season! we are playing the hellions of troy in schenectady, new york!!!! looking forward to taking some time off of work and going on a mini road trip. let's see if we can keep up this undefeated thing and carry it over to 2011!!!!

WOOT!!!

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DOUBLE WOOT - the seeds i ordered came in the mail today!!! TIME TO START THE 2011 GARDEN!!!

.want.

i want EVERYTHING on this website.

that is all.

.tj loves: roger j porter's etsy site.

a good friend, fantastic photographer and avid scrabble player . . . roger just updated his etsy site. there's some cool stuff on there for hallowe'en too!! check it out!

{image found here via: roger j porter on etsy.}

.tj loves: deerhunter.

this video is very nostalgic. tj loves.

.tj loves: brides.

it's been a rough few weeks around here . . . i really have felt like a bird perched on a wire. very precariously. first one thing then another . . . somehow our little family is managing to get through it. with lots of support from the people who love us.

it's been tough. i see a light at the end of tunnel though . . . we'll be alright.

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so . . . i'll do this post that i've been wanting to do: WEDDINGS!!!

i. love. weddings.
i love brides.
i love LOVE.
i love romance.

i love a good, creative non-traditional wedding.

i love my friends - the ones who are brides. the ones who are grooms. the ones who are photographers.

here are a few of them:
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shandrea:

i've known shandrea since college . . . which was . . . quite a while ago. she lives on the west coast, so we haven't seen each other in a long time. but, recently shandrea was a beautiful bride.
here are a couple of shots from her gorgeous wedding:
love the umbrella

did i mention she lives in the beautiful pacific northwest? - full of natural beauty. ugh i love it.

she has a great sense of fun and silliness too!

all photos are taken by the talented kellie parry. follow that link to see her blog about the wedding.

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kristin and daryl

k and d are friends of ours here in good old providence. we recently went to their wedding at bittersweet farm over in massachussets. the wedding was full of laughter and love and beauty and had a very classy but rustic feel. here are a few of the pictures that i took that night:
the boys walking from the farmhouse to the gazebo.
miss k being walked down the "aisle" by her father. she was stunning.
moments after becoming "man and wife." the light was perfect!
the wedding party celebrating with the newlyweds.

their wedding was photographed by the talented brad smith who also took their engagement photos.
here are some of his gorgeous shots:
like i said, gorgeous.
you can see me in the last row on the right in the copper colored dress. :)

those boys.

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i guess that's enough wedding porn for now :) i am in a wedding this weekend. the lovely miss michelle who did our awesome photo shoot is getting hitched! i'll be counting on the man-friend to take the photos since i'll be in the wedding. we'll see what kind of shots we get :)

.mustache love.

that's right. i said mustache.

i WANT these hotpants for derby!!!

it(was)'s MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

.tj loves: david bazan.

{tee available here}

i know most of my posts have been mini-commercials lately, but i've just been finding so many things that i love and the people i love are doing so many awesome things . . . i simply feel that i need to catagorize or store them or something . . . so i put them on this blog :)

the man-friend and i have a favorite singer/songwriter/musician and he's on tour soon! coming to cambridge in sept! and he has a new shirt out . . . with - STOP RIGHT THERE - a MUSTACHE on it!!

i might have just died and gone to heaven.

.tj loves: august and after and CKP.

{image credit: corinne krogh}

my dear sweet cori at august and after has started her FANTASTIC photography website CKP!

she is a LOVELY lady with a beautiful life and fantastic dreams for the future. she and her husband and their cute puppy live in asheville, NC and are building a sweet life together.

go check out her goodies at her photo website now!!!

tj loves: andrealady and the vagabond boutique

the bees knees
{image credit: anrdrealady}

check out the vagabond boutique on etsy! my friend, miss andrealady, is selling her handmade pretties there! she and her man, mr j, are currently wwoofing in ireland for the summer!

oh the adventures they are having!

stop by her shop and get to know her better!

tj loves: style me pretty and public image photography

{photo found at: style me pretty}
{photo credit: public image photography}

check out this style me pretty inspiration blog! my friend grace is the model and my friend ricky from public image photography took the photos. i LOVE the rosemary used throughout! click the links for more pretties!

.photoshoot sneak peak.

{photo credit: Michelle Neal-Dimery}

thse are some of my favorite's from monday night's photoshoot. i'll post more once we have time to go through the whole disc. we had SO MUCH fun with our photographer, michelle! she did a GREAT job! and she is going to do even more great things in the future! as soon as she gets her website up, i will post a link. in the meantime, if you like for her to take any engagement, new baby, anniversary, birthday, wedding, etc photos for you - let me know! i will help you get in touch with her!

.tj loves: tea for two.

my matryoshka obsession has once again reared it's lovely head.

can be purchased here . . .


while you're at it - get one for yourself, too!

.30 day journal challenge day 9, 10, 11, and 12.

sorry i don't post these every day . . . some days are just too busy for me to get around to posting them! but don't worry! i am doing them.

i am also spending time with my new roommates, rollerskating, working in my garden, playing with my dog, and loving the summer weather (even though it' SO HOT, i can't complain cause it's usually FREEZING cold here . . . like 9 months a year . . . i'm cold).

so, here's the latest pages and their prompts:

Journal Prompt 9: Choose another person who is vert significant in your life right now. It can definitely be the same person that we wrote about on day 3, but I chose to do someone different. Anyway, this prompt is going to be all about those wonderful adjectives, and typography. Describe your special person with as many words as you can fit. For each word, try to use a different font or writing style. This is a great way to practice fun typography!

I created a picture of my man-friend based on a photo i took of him a few weeks ago. i used different fonts to create the different textures in the image (the beard, the plaid in the shirt, over the pocket and in the quote) . . . i really like how it turned out!

Journal Prompt 10: This prompt is all about collections. I am such a collector. I have too many collections but I love them all. I am definitely the type who moves on though to new collection depending on my mood and the seasons in my life. What do you collect? If anything. Do you collect buttons, clothes, shoes, friends, parking tickets, whatever!! Illustrate your collections. This will be fun to look back on someday and see how your collections have grown or have moved on :)

I didn't really have anything i collected in earnest, so i just walked around my house looking for themes in my life . . . so, i have a lot of: buttons (From various bands, events, etc), vinyl (obvi), feathers (mostly for crafting), sunglasses (can't say no to the perfect pair!), books (tons and tons!), coffee mugs (when i travel, i usually get one in the city that i go to), things with owls on them, vintage bathing suits (love those pointy cone bras in them! ha ha!), and vintage boots.

Journal Prompt 11: Hello friends. Today is another one of my favorite pages. And speaking of favorites, this is a page all about your faves!!

We are going to list your favorites in each of these four categories:

* TV shows: Glee, LOST, arrested development, the office and SNL (though i don't have TV so i have to watch reruns online or at a friend's house)

* Music david bazan (from pedro the lion), jenny lewis (and rilo kiley), great lake swimmers, over the rhine, red house painters (aka sun kill moon)

* Food local food, strawberries, curry, ice cream, lemonade

* Splurges vinyle, vintage, craft supplies, books at garage sales . . .

Journal Prompt 12: Journal 12 is all about trends. Whether you consider yourself "trendy" or not, I bet there are a few trends that you find yourself gravitating to. If not, you can create a page of trends that you think are lame too, it's up to you :)

for this one, i picked out all the ironic "hipster" trends that i follow . . . weather or not they are "good" (like my fabric grocery bags) or just plain silly (like leggings!) . . . i've made them painfully obvious. let's celebrate the ways that we are just like everyone else!!!

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in other news:
been eating well even though summer usually means less of an income for the man-friend and i . . . we've gotten our first two weeks of our CSA shares and that, plus great weather making our garden produce like crazy!, has kept our tummies full.

been taking some lovely summertime photos - like the construction on the interstate they've been doing . . . here's a mural that was on the overpass for I-95 . . . and the construction vehicles that are about to tear it down! ch-ch-ch-changes . . . it's sad to see a piece of art go . . . i wish they'd just let them stay and be free-standing walls . . . or incorporate them into the new architecture that goes up in the area . . .

.tj loves: getting presents.

.amazon wishlist.
.modcloth wishlist.
.pinterest.
.sock it to me.

.tj loves: the journey.

.gaiam.
.learning to love you more.
.married to the sea.
.oregon beer s.n.o.b.
.postsecret.
.tweak today.

.tj loves: radical housekeeping and gardening.

.companion planting.
.the daily green.
.diy kitchen cleaners.
.earth dinner.
.farm fresh ri.
.foxpoint community garden.
.herb companion.
.permaculture.
.permies.
.scratch farm.
.selfsufficientish.
.southside community land trust.
.the hollies.
.wikihow.

.tj loves: roller derby.

.blood and thunder.
.derbyluv.
.five on five.
.providence roller derby.
.WFTDA.
.rose city rollers.

.tj loves: arts and crafts.

.as220.
.arts and crafts initiative.
.craft foxes.
.craftland.
.craftster.
.craftzine.
.design sponge.
.indie public.
.instructables.
.providence open market.
.rhody craft 100.
.red velvet art.
.secret door.
.threadbanger.
.michaelchsiung.
.society6.
.jealous curator.

.tj loves: music.

.aquarium drunkard.
.bradley's almanac.
.cover laydown.
.daytrotter.
.hidden track.
.dolorean.

.tj loves: her artistic friends.

.alli coat.
.allison blackwell.
.derek gaumer.
.dimery photography.
.ellie leonardsmith.
.eve streicker.
.indie arts ri.
.karli fairbanks.
.latasha haynes photography.
.laurel dailey.
.lisa butler.
.rachel austin.
.sickfeet.